The
NIKE Firing Area Sigerslev
Danish Air Defence Group
Squadron
533
A little NIKE history
1952Development of an improved Nike missile began to
obtain a better performance than MIM-3 Nike Ajax (then knownsimply as Nike).
1953 The SAM-A-25
Nike B program was formally established. Western
Electric was prime contractor, and Douglas was
responsible for the missile airframe. 1955 First flight tests with the liquid-fuel
sustainer. Very troublesome. 1956The Nike B renamed Nike Hercules 1956 The
first successful interception of a drone target occurred
1957 The new solid-fuel sustainer flew for the first time.
1958 The first production Nike Hercules missiles were
delivered
The NIKE Area:
IFC
(Integrated Fire Control Area) later FCA (Fire Control Area) COMPOSED OF:
AN ACQUISITION RADAR
(ACQ) WITH AN IDENTIFICATION FRIEND OR FOE (IFF) SYSTEM.
A DIRECTOR STATION (DS)
A TARGET TRACKING RADAR (TTR)
A MISSILE TRACKING RADAR
(MTR)
A TRACKING STATION (TS)
Later they got an HIGH POWER ACQUISITION RADAR (1964) and a TARGET
RANGING RADAR (1970)
This made it possible to engage hostile ballistic missiles.
The distance between the the IFC and the LCA should be 1 to 5
kilometes. Closer than 1 kilometer, the MTR
was not able to follow the missile du to the launch speed. The IFC nd the
LCA were connected by cables.
LAUNCHER CONTROL AREA (LCA) COMPOSED OF:
MISSILE ASSEMBLY & WARHEAD MISSILE STORAGE FACILIITIES
A LUANCHER CONTROL STATION (LCS)
THE LAUNCHERS (3 SECTIONS WITH 3 LAUNCHERS EACH)
A STORAGE IN EACH SECTION FOR FURTHER MIISILES
A CONTROL ROOM IN EACH SECTION
THE MISSILES
In the launcher area there was an assembly area, where the missiles were mounted.
Motor and warhead was mounted in the Revetted Area.
The
distance between the launch sections are long enough, so that the personel could
work in open air with
two sections
while the third was firing.
The NIKE system worked on normal power (230 V), that was transformed to american
values (120 V 400 Hz).
The first Danish SAM (surface to air missile) unit, was formed in Fort
Bliss, El Paso USA. 1959
NIKE AJAX at the SAM School
The SAM school in USA
The Gate to the School
Launching computer
After training they moved back to Denmark. The unit was composed of one
staff and four batteries.
Originally the batteries were part og the Army (10. Luftværnsafdeling) but
in 1962 they became part
of the Airforce as Squadron 531 - 532 - 533 - 534.
The main task was to defend Copenhagen.
The materiel was mounted 1960, NIKE HERCULES and the older NIKE AJAX. Same
year they were
declared operationel along with the Airforce fighters.
The
Headquartes was in The Avedøre Lejr, a military facility from WW 1, 10
kilometres west of
Copenhagen
The Batteries were mounted in Gunderød (North Sjaelland) Kongelunden on
Amager (island on the
east coast of Copenhagen, Tune 40 kilometrest og Copenhagen and finally Sigeslev 50 kilometres
south
of Copenhagen.
The
overall control of the NIKE batteries was the Ejbybro Bunker.
It was build inthe old
fortificaton Line Vestvolden 10 kilometres west of Copenhagen. This facility
cooperated with the Airforce radar stations
and the Airforce command i Karup in Jutland.
NIKE Launching Area Sigerslev.
Map NIKE Firing Area Sigerslev
Click to enlarge
The buildings, areas and their use
The main gate. The only entrance to the facility
Command building to the right
and the Assembly to the left..
The main gate to the LCA
The Command Building.
The LCA platoon leaders office,
facilities for sleeping and eating
and toilets.
Guard 24 / 7 / 365
North end of the assembly
South end af the assembly
The Missile on the Trolley (USA)
Repair and assembly of the missiles, except the motors and the
warheads. Also repair of all the LCA
equipment. The trolleys and cranes for the missiles, that
weighted 5 tons each, were placed at the
apron
North of the building . After the assembly, the missles were
brought out of the southern end
of the building and to mounting of the rocket motor and the warhead in the Revetted
Area.
A little building for storing liquid
fuel for the NIKE Ajax.
A garage for tractors and other
working vehicles.
The Revetted Area. Here rocket motors and warheads were mounted in the missiles.
Outside, but
behind the rampage, the NIKE Ajax missiles were fueled with af very
flammable mixture of fluid
fuel.
When working with fuel and
warheads, the road
passing
the building was blocked.
The electronic fence at the road (right) has not
been confirmed being part of this.
There are no photo of the little store of lubricates and the transformer and Generator
house.for tactical power. It contained a transformer to transform Danish power
(230 V) to American values
(12o V 400 Hz) The generator could produce tactical power to the area if normal
power failed.
The buildings have been use to other purposes and are in a very
poor condition.
The Launcher Control Area
From the assembly area and the Revetted Area, a road
leads about 500 meters to the
Launcher Area.
The road between the
revetted area and the
launcher sections.
Guard Tower, flanking
position at the intrance to
section B and C
Interior of the tower
Inside the Launch Area, the double fences vith guard towers between the
double fense are
interesting.
These were not
the standards of the Danish military facilities.
The explanation for this high security is, that it
might
become neccesary to
change the normal
warheads
to
nuclear warheads. This could be done in the Launch Area.
Denmark had, after heavy Soviet pressure, refused nuclear weapons on
Danish soil in mid 50,s.
But just south of the boarder, nuclear weapons for Denmark was stored.
Both for the artillery and the
missiles.
In a memo from the chief of defence to the Danish Government april 1959,
it is stated, that the few
number of missiles was not effective unless they were armed with nuclear warheads.
And here
we are talking about all the Danish missiles, both the SAM (Surface to air missile NIKE) and
the SSM (Surface-to-surface-missile Honest John)
The Launcher Area was composed af 3 launching areas.
Each of a storing facility, a
bunker for the firing crew, 3 launchers and rapages around it.
Road to launcher
section B
Launcher Section B
Missile hangar for
missiles (Section B)
Bunker for control
personel (Section B)
At Sigerslev, only launcher area B is nice and tidy. In section B and C It
is still possible
to see where
the launchers were positioned.
NIKE Hercules at
Sigerslev
In the rampage of each of the three launching sections, there was a control
bunker.
Authorised personel only
Inside, door to control
room.
In the rampage og each
launcher section, there was abunker for the control Personel.
1 launcher commander
1 Panel operator
3 Missile men ( 1 for each launcher)
1 Generator operator
It was possible to slepp inside if high alert was stated. At high alert
during the 60´es, they should
be able to launch the 1. missile within 5 minutes.
A frosty morning at
Sigerslev.
Picturs taken from the Revetted
Area
Possible NIKE Ajax in Section C
There were steelplates on the platform, to protect it against the blast
when launching.
Only In section C they are left
Shield on the door to the
control bunker in Section C
Launch area C
Launch area C
Launch area B
Launching a NIKE Ajax
Launching a NIKE Hercules
1 minute clip of Hercules launching
at Q-5 target missile late
1950'th.
In the three launcher sections (A-C) there are a little building for
an emengency generator.
Section A. The powerboard is
inside
the door to the right.
Power board inside
There still are a lot of
different power boards in the generator buildings
Antenna in the LCA:
There was contact between
the
Launcher
Area and the fire control
area at Flagbanken.
Eighter by cable or radio.
In 1969 the NIKE AJAX went out of service and in 1981 and 1983
the 4 NIKE HERCULES Squadrons
went out of
service.
For a few years some HAWK batteries were stationed here after The Nike
Sections left it.
Squadron mark 543 on the storage
building in section B.
543 was the HAWK squadron on the
HAWK Launch Area Hoejerup untill
2000.
The NIKE system was replaced by the HAWK in 1981- 83. Hawk was active until 2000.
To day Firing Area Sigerslev is private property. Some of the
buildings has been used for different
activities, and time has been hard for some of them.
The Fire Control Area
At Mandehoved (Flagbanken) the Fire Control Area (the radars) was placed.
There never was a HIPAR at Stevns, only at the base in Tune west of
Copenhagen.
Fire Control Area Flagbanken. (Click to enlarge)
The cooperation between the
missile
and the radar
The Lopar and the Hipar.
The HIPAR (USA)
The LOPAR (USA)
The stand for the
TTR (Target
Tracking Radar)
and the two operator
buildings at
Stevns.
Panels from the
buildings are
shown below
Control panels TTR (Target Tracking Radar)
TRR (Target Ranging
Radar)
Tactical Control Officer
(TCO) panel
TTR
TRR
The barracks, FSNSIG (Air Station Sigerslev
)
A few hundred metres north of the Fire
Control Area, the barracks were placed.
The Barracks.
(Click to enlarge)
2 similar views from the HIPAR
stand towards the Barracks.
Left: In the active period before
2000
Right: Summer 2008.
Today, The Fire Control Area is open for the
public. The HIPAR stand is used by ornithologists.
The barracks was for some years a refuge Center under The Danish red Cross.
To day, the
buildings are empty and for sale.
The Staff
The Staff of the missile-bataillon was stationed in the Avedøre Camp. Old
Barracks from WW 1 in
Hvidovre, 10 miles west of Copenhagen. The Barracks were build in
1911-13.
To day, the Barracks is modernized as private flats.
The command building
The
Missile Operations Central.
The command of the missile Defence
of
Copenhagen was
placed at the Ejbybro Bunker just outside the City.
The area was the pre-WW I defence line of Copenhagen.
The Bunker consisted of several floors under
the surface.
The bunker is build into a rampage of the old 1886 defence
line of the city, and is only visible from the front.
Only two corners and the front
of the bunker are
visible
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